


The Brother That I Left Behind

by lalala_broadway



Category: Glee, White Collar
Genre: Angst, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2012-10-15
Updated: 2013-01-23
Packaged: 2017-11-16 09:38:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,104
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/538091
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lalala_broadway/pseuds/lalala_broadway
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>There's another art thief copying Neal Caffrey. But what happens when that copycat turns out to be Blaine Anderson, Neal's long-lost baby brother, and its Neal's job to put him in prison? White Collar/Glee crossover. Klaine. Peter/Elizabeth.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Brother That I Left Behind

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: I own nothing! Not Neal or Blaine or anyone else in this story. I don't own Glee or White Collar, or any of their affiliated characters.

Neal Caffrey hadn't talked about his brother for 19 years.

Yet, not a day went by when Neal didn't think of him at least once. Often it would be a passing thought, like _Oh, Blaine would have loved that sweater, or I wonder if Blaine can play that piece of music now that he's older._

Many times, however, it was a long pondering, agonizing line of cognizance. His little brother, his sweet Blaine, was out there somewhere in the world. What kind of man was he now? What did he look like? Did he still have those untamable jet black curls of hair, or had they flattened out with age?

Also often, Neal wondered if Blaine was gay.

Neal had had his suspicions when they were children. When tiny, five year old Blaine had told him that Prince Phillip was "the most handsome thing to ever exist in the whole entire universe," Neal had felt realization strike.

He understood that Blaine may not have been sure at that young age, but yet his keen intuition kept telling him that Blaine did, in fact, like boys.

Of course, Neal didn't have a problem with this. Yet, since that day when they were children, stories of gay bashings and gay teen suicides in the news had screamed out loud to him and then haunted him for life. Many times, he would worry for his brother's safety, and wish he could have been there to protect him.

Those were the moments he most regretted leaving Blaine.

Of course, it was for the best. There was no question in Neal's mind that leaving Blaine was the right thing to do for the sake of the kid's own childhood and opportunities.

Yet, that didn't change the feeling of guilt that Neal experienced every time he thought of those large, teary hazel eyes and chubby hands reaching out for him, begging:

"Please don't leave me, Cooper! Please don't let them take me away!" he had screamed as they buckled him into the backseat. Those hazel eyes had watched him fade into the distance, riding away in that shiny new bmw, until Neal became just a speck in the distance and a speck in the background of Blaine's life.

That was the last time he saw his brother, and according to the rules he had agreed to, it was the last time he would ever see him again.

"Neal?"

Peter's voice woke him from his musings.

"Yeah?" Neal returned, already rising from his seat, realizing his mistake.

"You were supposed to be in my office five minutes ago. I put this meeting on your schedule, Neal."

"Oh, yeah, sorry.. sorry, Peter. I'm up. I'm coming now."

Peter regarded him solemnly for a moment, and Neal knew that his boss/partner/best friend was onto something being wrong with him.

And of course, there was always something wrong with him this time of year. Blaine's birthday was in a week, after all.

Blaine's 25th birthday: just another to add to the list of his little brother's birthdays he had missed.

But yet, when it was so close in passing, Neal was looking at birthday cards in grocery stores wishing he had an address to send them to. Even at 35 years old himself, he couldn't help but get a little spacy and distracted in the office.

Neal had finished his sentence with Peter nearly five years earlier by working as a consultant for the FBI. Given the chance, when it was over, he took a permanent position doing the same job, publically stating that it was because working for the FBI gave him the same thrill as pulling cons without needing to pay long-distance shipping for Peter's Christmas cards. (Peter had snorted at this). Peter and his wife, Elizabeth, knew that the real reason he stayed was that Neal finally felt a sense of home and belonging with them and the White Collar division.

So, Neal had gone on to work with Peter as a consultant and partner for the past five years, regularly reminding everyone that the only differences between this and his days as a criminal were the lack of a tracking anklet and the ability to take vacation hours for a week off in Morocco.

The first few times Neal had used those vacation hours, Peter had called him periodically under the guise of "Sorry to bother you during your vacation, but I just have one urgent question."

He really just wanted to make sure that Neal wasn't pulling a mid-vacation con or something similar.

After a year without any more incident than the occasional missing wallet (and that one time with the forged paperwork for a raise), Peter learned to accept that Neal could generally be trusted.

Now, Neal found himself sitting in Peter's office as the older man closed the door behind them and took his own seat behind the desk.

"You sure you're alright, Neal? You've been a little off all day." Peter commented as he searched for the right file in a pile of folders.

_Damn it, Peter,_ Neal thought as he shlumped down in his chair. He may be the best ex-con in the business, but Peter had been able to read him since the first year they'd worked together. That ability had only developed with time.

"I'm fine, Peter. Just let it go today. What's the meeting about?" Neal changed the subject blatantly, knowing that it would be better just to evade Peter for now and distract him with work rather than make up some excuse.

"Alright, don't tell me. I spent ten years figuring out your secrets, why stop now?" He agreed sarcastically as he found and pulled out the right folder from his stack.

As he slapped it down on the desk in front of Neal, Peter continued, "New case. Old story. Good thing you need a pick-me-up today, because this'll be one hell of one."

Neal picked up the folder and as he flipped through it, a delighted smile grew across his face.

"Another copycat." Neal grinned.

Peter chuckled. "Yes, but not a complete mimic. There's a clear Caffrey influence in all of these crimes, but there's always something original about them, as well. They were all inspired by your work, but never a complete duplicate."

"Impressive," Neal acceded, setting down the folder.

Peter nodded, picking up the file. "Diana already had some ideas, so she's got a lead for us to check out, if you're up for some work undercover."

Neal stood and flipped his hat up onto his head in true Caffrey fashion.

"Let's go catch a copycat."

**Author's Note:**

> A/N: Hey everybody! Thanks for reading!
> 
> So either the next chapter or the one after is going to get into exactly what happened between Neal/Cooper and Blaine when they were kids. Stay tuned!
> 
> Reviews please? This is my first multi-chap and I could use the encouragement, if you have a moment. :)


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